--- title: "WhatsApp vs YouTube: Which is searched more in New Zealand?" description: "Is WhatsApp or YouTube more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Social media platforms set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/whatsapp-vs-youtube" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # WhatsApp vs YouTube: Which is searched more in New Zealand? Is WhatsApp or YouTube more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Social media platforms set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: WhatsApp and YouTube - **Competitive set**: Social media platforms - **Market**: New Zealand - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **WhatsApp Share of Search**: 2.3% - **YouTube Share of Search**: 42.8% ## Is WhatsApp or YouTube more popular in search? - In September 2026, YouTube had more branded searches than WhatsApp among social media platforms in New Zealand. YouTube had about 3.4 million branded searches, while WhatsApp had 184,000. YouTube made up 42.8% of all social media platform searches we track, and WhatsApp accounted for 2.3%. - YouTube was ahead of WhatsApp in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, WhatsApp’s share of searches among social media platforms in New Zealand moved from 2.1% to 2.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 165K to 184K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, YouTube’s share of searches among social media platforms in New Zealand moved from 42.9% to 42.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 3.4M. ## Top social media platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, YouTube was mentioned in four out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in both Google AI Overviews. WhatsApp was mentioned in two out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in both Google AI Overviews. YouTube was listed before WhatsApp in three out of four answers that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Facebook | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Instagram | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | TikTok | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | YouTube | 4th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | WhatsApp | 5th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | LinkedIn | 6th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Reddit | 7th | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Snapchat | 8th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Pinterest | 9th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Threads | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about social media platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which social media platform should I use in New Zealand?": 1. Facebook, 2. Instagram, 3. TikTok, 4. LinkedIn, 5. Reddit - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best social media platforms in New Zealand?": 1. Facebook, 2. Instagram, 3. TikTok, 4. YouTube, 5. LinkedIn, 6. Reddit, 7. Snapchat, 8. Pinterest - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best social media platform in New Zealand for sharing and browsing?": 1. Facebook, 2. Instagram, 3. TikTok, 4. Reddit, 5. YouTube - Searched Google, AI Overview "social media platforms nz": 1. Facebook, 2. Instagram, 3. WhatsApp, 4. YouTube, 5. TikTok, 6. Pinterest, 7. LinkedIn, 8. Snapchat - Searched Google, AI Overview "popular social media apps": 1. Facebook, 2. YouTube, 3. WhatsApp, 4. Instagram, 5. TikTok, 6. Snapchat, 7. Reddit Not named in any answer: Threads. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for New Zealand social media platforms in September 2026? - In September 2026, YouTube gained share of searches among social media platforms in New Zealand, from 42.2% to 42.8%. - In September 2026, WhatsApp rose from 8th to 7th among social media platforms in New Zealand. ## Month by month | Month | WhatsApp estimated searches | WhatsApp Share of Search | WhatsApp rank | YouTube estimated searches | YouTube Share of Search | YouTube rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 165K | 2.1% | 8 | 3.4M | 42.9% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 151K | 1.9% | 8 | 3.4M | 43.8% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 124K | 1.6% | 8 | 3.4M | 44.8% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 151K | 2% | 8 | 3.4M | 44% | 1 | | Feb 2026 | 151K | 1.9% | 8 | 3.4M | 43.8% | 1 | | Mar 2026 | 184K | 2% | 8 | 4.2M | 46.2% | 1 | | Apr 2026 | 165K | 2.1% | 8 | 3.4M | 42.9% | 1 | | May 2026 | 184K | 2.3% | 7 | 3.4M | 41.7% | 1 | | Jun 2026 | 184K | 2.3% | 7 | 3.4M | 42.4% | 1 | | Jul 2026 | 165K | 2.1% | 8 | 3.4M | 43.4% | 1 | | Aug 2026 | 184K | 2.3% | 8 | 3.4M | 42.2% | 1 | | Sep 2026 | 184K | 2.3% | 7 | 3.4M | 42.8% | 1 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using WhatsApp’s and YouTube’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **WhatsApp**: Measured on the search terms “jibi whatsapp”, “my whatsapp”, “whatsapp”, “whatsapp web” and “whatsapp windows”, summed into one figure. - **YouTube**: Measured on the search terms “bluey youtube”, “open youtube”, “peppa youtube”, “youtube”, “youtube app”, “youtube c”, “youtube downloading”, “youtube home”, “youtube movies”, “youtube shorts”, “youtube social media” and “youtube studio”, summed into one figure. - [WhatsApp profile](/demand/nz/brands/whatsapp) - [YouTube profile](/demand/nz/brands/youtube) - [All social media platforms in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-social-media-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is WhatsApp or YouTube more popular in search? In September 2026, YouTube had more branded searches than WhatsApp among social media platforms in New Zealand. YouTube had about 3.4 million branded searches, while WhatsApp had 184,000. YouTube made up 42.8% of all social media platform searches we track, and WhatsApp accounted for 2.3%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "WhatsApp vs YouTube: Which is searched more in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/whatsapp-vs-youtube This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/whatsapp-vs-youtube. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.